Walter Pach (1883–1958)

“Laurette McCarthy, a specialist in early twentieth-century American art and its European background, has produced a detailed study of one of the neglected figures of the period—Walter Pach. Pach was a brilliant mirror of the age, an influential critic, essayist, historian, lecturer, dealer, agent, and, not least of all, painter. McCarthy has dealt convincingly with all these facets, drawing on a good deal of unpublished documentation that has never before been tapped. Her book is a compelling biography that deals not only with the facts of Pach’s life but also with his engagement with the aesthetic and social themes of his time.” —William Innes Homer, University of Delaware

“Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, Laurette E. McCarthy’s meticulously documented biography of Walter Pach is an important contribution to the history of American modernism.” —Allan Antliff, University of Victoria

“This book fills one of the most gaping lacunae in the literature on modern art, for it provides a vivid, enlivened, and accurate portrait of one of the most influential yet overlooked figures in the history of American art. Through his writings, lectures, and relentless efforts to educate, for nearly a half century Walter Pach worked tirelessly behind the scenes to introduce modern European art to an essentially unaware and uninformed American public. It is safe to say that without his promotional efforts—particularly as they pertain to the organization and staging of the celebrated Armory Show of 1913—the development of modern art in America might well have taken a very different course, one far less exciting and intellectually stimulating. Today, artists, critics, curators, and historians—indeed, anyone involved in the field of modern and contemporary art—are in one way or another indebted to the path he charted for us, and specifically to the decisions that shaped our aesthetic future and contributed significantly to the advancement and understanding of modern art in America.” —Francis M. Naumann, Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, LLC

“No student of modern art should miss this thorough and fascinating study of one of the most important figures of the time, still little known except to specialists.” —William C. Agee, Hunter College, CUNY